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Mentor Blogs

Posts tagged with 'Electric'

Gone, in large part, are the days of military and aerospace (mil/aero) organizations buying a complete, comprehensive, end-to-end turnkey system from a single, solitary vendor. Rather, a vast majority of today’s mil/aero systems combine the technologies, components, and capabilities of myriad technology vendors.
Integrating parts from various vendors in a single system, like most things, has its pros … Read More

Just this month, PKC Eesti AS, a supplier of electrical wiring harnesses to European truck makers and a subsidiary of Finland’s PKC Group Oyj, announced that it is deploying the latest technology from the Mentor Graphics Capital suite of tools at its factory in Estonia. Among the tools adopted is the Capital HarnessXC product, which is designed to enable harness engineers to create detailed, validated, … Read More

Future Combat Systems (FCS) is but a distant memory, but the need to stay on the bleeding edge of technology in military and aerospace (mil/aero) environments remains unchanged. Today’s missions in harsh and challenging environments call for the latest and greatest technological advances.
FCS, the program created to deliver manned and unmanned advanced network-centric warfare and new combat vehicles … Read More

The U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, begun in 2003, carried with it the promise of a brand new fleet of manned ground vehicles; yet, due to economic and logistical difficulties and setbacks, FCS was cancelled in 2009.
In the spring of 2009, Pentagon and Army officials announced the cancellation of the FCS vehicle-development effort. Rather than providing new, future-proof vehicles able … Read More

Militaries the world over are increasingly relying upon advanced, multifunctional electronics systems to help ensure not only their safety, but also mission success. The growing use of and reliance on electronics does not come without a cost, however. Power-hungry devices require sufficient and reliable power. Yet, power can be hard to come by, especially in remote battlefield locales, such as both … Read More

The availability of sufficient power to drive myriad electronics in ground combat vehicles is a major concern in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) market. Current military ground vehicle platforms are outfitted with a wealth of electronics—including command and control, communications, radar and radar jamming, weaponry, counter-IED/countermeasures, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance … Read More

The good news: The aerospace market is alive, active, and growing in number and strength. The bad news: The mil/aero market seeks new, cutting-edge solutions (from individual components to comprehensive systems) that are not only well designed, but thoroughly tested and verified. (And if this geek had his say, they would be designed, tested, and verified using trusted, high-end, industry-proven software

“[Skydrol] is very unpleasant to work with. It stings. It forms a very fine mist and gets everywhere,” reveals an anonymous aircraft maintenance engineer of the widely used hydraulic fluid. “When you have a pinhole leak somewhere, and are trying to find it, you will get it all over you and itch for ages afterwards. It really should be banned as a health hazard to mechanics.” Sounds like lovely stuff, … Read More

Hydraulic systems have for decades been the go-to technology in airplanes, both commercial and military, because of their high power density and proven reliability. Yet, hydraulic systems can be difficult to control, given that sensors are often located far from the brake piston; can require more maintenance, given the propensity for leaks or contamination in the hydraulic lines and the fluid contained … Read More

Goodrich Corp. engineers used electronic design automation (EDA) software to design, verify, and test the company’s latest innovative electronic brake automation avionics. The company’s electric brake system is being employed on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplane; in fact, a majority of 787 customers to date have selected the Goodrich electric brake system.
Goodrich executives announced in March 2011 … Read More

It’s the last thing I think about when I board a plane; yet, it’s first of mind when I see that we’re approaching pavement at a high rate of speed upon reaching our destination. You guessed it: I’m talking about brakes. This aircraft element gains little consumer attention (unless it fails to work, of course), but the critical system component is garnering considerable attention from the technology … Read More

The military and aerospace (mil/aero) market has recently suffered some fiscal setbacks. It may come as a surprise that the economy was not to blame; rather, it was design and production delays.
This interesting, and somewhat jarring, tidbit comes from Richard L. Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group Corp., team of aerospace and defense industry analysts in Fairfax, Va. He shared several … Read More

This geek loves the modern space race, as it is being called by many. I speak of the resurgence of interest in rockets, spacecraft, and virtually all things space-related. I enjoy all facets of it—whether private, public, international, or domestic. I love it all, as my fellow geeks likely already know.
The recent decommissioning of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, after many decades of successful service, … Read More

We can all learn how to tell a great story, revealed Aaron Shin, senior director of the transition to products at Raytheon Company in Waltham, Mass., in his IESF keynote, “The Art of Storytelling.”
Okay, admittedly, many of us geeks and nerds may not be the best speakers. But, so what?
Don’t get me wrong, I strive toward and aspire to be a phenomenal, thought-provoking speaker and, as a result, an effective … Read More

Developing a great story with which to “sell” our ideas is a facet of design work not all of us (we geek folk) are the best at pulling off; however, without a compelling and interesting story or pitch, many products and companies would not be where they are today. When it comes down to it, many successes can be attributed to a great storyteller.
Aaron Shin, senior director of the transition … Read More